Eastern Idaho deputy cleared in fatal shooting

POCATELLO, Idaho – Eastern Idaho authorities have cleared a Bannock County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a Pocatello man.

Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Cleve Colson in a news release Friday said the Dec. 22 fatal shooting of 62-year-old Laurence McClellan was a justified use of deadly force.

Authorities said that on Dec. 22 Pocatello police investigated several hit-and-run accidents that led them to a Pocatello residence and the suspect vehicle.

Authorities said that McClellan eventually emerged from the residence with a handgun that he pointed at law enforcement officials as he approached them, refusing commands.

Colson said the deputy shot McClellan three times with a rifle and that McClellan was pronounced dead at the scene.

The deputy is not named in the news release.